Worship Musician June 2019 - Jonathan Cain | Page 177

with different experience levels. If you could and I made it intentionally to be extremely tweaked it and it won’t happen again. Because
speak as an accomplished worship musician compressed like when you listen to old records the second that you start sounding bad to the
to the average sound tech in the worship and the bass is so tight. You can hear every front of house it just doesn’t work, you have to
community, what is the most important piece note and there’s less bottom end but it’s got work with them to work with you. I can’t hear
of advice they should hear from a musician? the meat and potatoes of it. I made it and it the front of house, but that’s the most important
was sounding amazing in my in-ears, I was like, thing of the night. Whether you’re playing a
[David] I think this goes for both musicians “This patch is great, I love this!” I’ve never really concert or a worship service, it’s about people
and engineers, I won’t single anybody out, I liked compression on bass that much, but coming to an event, and it’s about making it the
think engineers need to trust the bands. How this was like I can play all these great Motown best thing possible. Especially if it’s a ticketed
do I say this? I’ve listened to a lot of mixes songs and it sounds cool. event, we want to do them justice for coming
where there is too much process going on. I
out. Even with church services, people could
think with some of the better engineers there So, Todd comes up to me and is like, “What did have just stayed at home and watched it online
is very little going on in the mix. You’re trusting you do to your bass? Your bass doesn’t sound but they came to the actual brick and mortar
the band to help mix themselves, trusting what like a bass right now”. I think my point was church, and my goal is to not do something
their effects are coming through. I feel like it’s that to me in my in-ears (which is a different that is distracting or will deter someone else’s
the engineer’s job to help make what the band experience then what is being translated to job and make their day harder.
signal is sending get translated though front of front of house) what’s getting translated to front house. I think it’s important for the band to trust of house is a bass that’s sounding like a guitar. We had that communication and he trusted me
the engineer to do that. Because it was getting too compressed to the to send him a better signal and I was able to
point where if you’re trying to pump that though work with that. I always want someone to tell
For example, I understand that maybe how line arrays and subwoofers there was nothing me if something is not translating. If I walked
it sounds in my ears might not be translating there. It didn’t translate out there even though it to front of house and heard that bass patch
to front of house, but I’m trusting that what was working in my in-ears. The speaker on an I would have been like, “That’s awful, I can’t
I’m sending is getting enhanced by the IEM is nothing like what’s going on out there. believe I’m doing that!” And it makes me look
engineer through front of house, because it’s So, he was like, “What’s going on, we might bad if I let that go and just play a whole set like
just a completely different system. You have need to fix this.” And I was like, “Thank you for that. This is where the communication comes
line arrays and subs, you have people in the telling me that. From the stage to me it was in. My bass in the front of house is probably
room sucking up the frequency, it’s their job translating, but thank you for telling me that sixty percent of the mix. He cranks it, and if
to supplement what you’re doing, not them something that I was doing is not working in that’s the foundation of the whole mix I want
changing everything that you’re sounding like. front of house”. it to be even better. I want people to want to
And I know a couple of engineers that do that.
crank my bass up. Like you said, you could
Even this past weekend, I used a modeling I’m all on board for bass players using pedals tell if I was playing just by being in the room. I
system on my board with a bunch of different and effects, but the second it doesn’t work want that to be something that I can contribute.
effects on it, and this is a great example of me in front of house it doesn’t matter. So, it was But they’re not going to do that if I don’t sound
as a musician trusting the process and the great, I realized the problem and I switched it, good. Even if I think one thing sounds good,
engineer and the engineer trusting me back. and sure enough it was a way better sound. but it’s not doing that in front of house, that is
I made a bass patch on this effects pedal I was trying something new, it didn’t work, I something I just never want to do.
June 2019
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